Author Archives: vickieclarkebrown

This morning little Sweetpea was loudly announcing her imminent laying with an egg song. Saturday is our full housekeeping day, and due to a little human lay-in I was still cleaning out the coop, so she couldn’t get to her usual nest box, which was clearly somewhat of a frustration from the squawking being produced.Continue reading “A Different Perspective”

This morning was a bit traumatic in our little corner of the world. Princess Layer, who is usually fairly chilled, attacked both Sweetpea and Queenie within minutes of them all being let out of the run. Chasing them around to peck at them quite viciously. This is very unusual behaviour for Princess Layer, she’s usuallyContinue reading “It’s not always about you……”

This morning is a beautiful day in our corner of Yorkshire, the sun is shining and the sky is a beautiful rich blue. It’s the end of summer, but today it’s hanging on in there. The girls were out early as usual, scratching around looking for worms whilst I drank my tea and read aContinue reading “Adventuring with Friends”

This morning was beautiful here in Yorkshire, the sun rose into a clear blue sky. The girls (as usual) couldn’t wait to get out of their run. Henrietta led the charge, and very quickly they were all happily either digging for worms or demanding layer pellets. Then the world went quiet, all the wild birdsContinue reading “Listen to your Intuition”

“Pecking order” is a term derived from chicken behaviour, it’s how they sort out their relative positions in the flock. The subtleties are fascinating. Henrietta, with her wonky beak and pronounced limp, is top hen. She is completely secure in her ranking, leads the flock out in a morning and back at bedtime, and keepsContinue reading “Self-confidence is a quiet strength”

Chickens, dumb animals, right? Queenie was “retired” from her commercial egg laying barn in May this year, just 4 months ago. Watching her get used to her new free range surrounding has been a fantastic experience. This morning Queenie jumped into a tree, jump down (from what must have felt like a great height toContinue reading “Do it, just because….”

Treat time! All the girls love a bit of long-stemmed broccoli in the evening and will jump up next to me on the bench to have first dibs. However, broccoli isn’t easy for a chicken to eat, it can’t be gobbled up in a single peck. Sweetpea hops up and allows me hold onto theContinue reading “Accept Help”

This morning I was hand feeding the girls (I know, but they’re ex commercial hens and I love to spoil them). Because I only have the two hands I was feeding Queenie on one side (the littlest and one of the new girls, and Gloria on the other (the smallest of my older girls). GloriaContinue reading “Focus on Your Goals”

First blog – why? When my husband and I moved into our first owned house together, we both knew that what would make our house a home was a dog. We researched and talked to friends and concluded that an ex-racing greyhound would suit our lifestyle perfectly. (They are built for speed not stamina andContinue reading “First Blog – Why?”